[BE700G-GR] Remainung battery runtime

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I have a one week old APC Back-UPS ES 700 (BE700G-GR), seems to be manufactured in November 2017. This is also my first UPS.

I'm confused about the remaining battery runtime reported by apcupsd.
The UPS is 100% charged, I have a running router and running Raspberry Pi 3 connected to the UPS.

1. If the UPS is plugged into the wall it shows approx. 38 minutes remaing runtime.
2. If the UPS is running on battery it shows a load of 1% and the reported remaining battery runtime drops slowly from 38 minutes downwards.

There are screenshots in the net where the same model runs 60 minutes and more. The 38 of my UPS is just the half of what I expected. What could be the reason?

[SamirD_apc]

A UPS's run time is related to the load as well as the condition of the batteries.  Considering yours is brand new, I would check to see what the runtime estimate is with no load, and even then keep in mind that this is only an estimate.

If you really want to know the exact time you'll have, charge it up to 100% and then time it until it is dead.  You can do this with and without a load to see how accurate the display is.  And keep in mind that the unit is 'smart' so it will be more accurate as time goes on.

[Anonymous user]

Meanwhile I have another one, but the run time of my two BE700G-GR (new goods, bought end of February) is a disappointment. Even when fully charged both shutdown in less than 45 minutes with just a 50W lightbulb plugged.

[SamirD_apc · Accepted solution]

That actually might be right considering those are 230V models.  Remember, the VA rating is the same for both the 120V and 230V models, but the runtimes will be less for the same wattage item on 230V because that is actually more load then 55w at 120v.  Check out this runtime chart and it might make sense:

http://www.apcguard.com/Smart-UPS-Runtime-Chart.asp

The 700va units will run about 2hrs with a 55w 120v load.  And you're getting about half that because your voltage is double.  Sounds like that's about right.  Unless my eyeball math is wrong...

[JackSmith]

I'm afraid that your reasoning is flawed. 55W is 55W whether the supplied voltage is 120V or 230V - only the current is different. The best way to look at it is the power in watts drawn from the battery must by definition stay the same irrespective of the supply voltage.